Neurotrophic factors are critical regulators of the formation and plasticity of neuronal networks. Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is abundant in the brain and periphery, and is found in both human serum and plasma. Animal studies have demonstrated that stress reduces BDNF expression or activity in the hippocampus and that this reduction can be prevented by treatment with antidepressan...

introduction: anethole is the main constituent of pimpinella anisum l. (anise), a herbaceous annual plant which has several therapeutic effects. in the folk medicine, anise is employed as an antiepileptic drug. specifically, this study was focused on the cellular effect of anethole, an aromatic compound in essential oils from anise and camphor. anethole has various physiological effects on the ...

To date, it has remained unclear whether gastrointestinal symptoms, which are frequently observed in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS), accompanied by pathology of the enteric nervous system (ENS). Here, neurotransmitter signature ENS neurons and morphological alterations interstitial cells Cajal (ICCs) were studied MS mice experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), is an animal model...

Introduction: Hepcidin is the principal modulator of systemic iron metabolism, and its role in the brain has been clarified recently. Studies have shown hepcidin plays an important role for in neuronal iron load and inflammation. This is of significance because neuronal iron load and inflammation are pathophysiological processes that have been highly linked to neurodegeneration. Moreover, the a...

Neural activity is integral to the development of the enteric nervous system (ENS). A subpopulation of neural crest-derived cells expresses pan-neuronal markers at early stages of ENS development (at E10.5 in the mouse). However, the electrical activity of these cells has not been previously characterized, and it is not known whether all cells expressing neuronal markers are capable of firing a...

In this study, immunohistochemical analysis has been performed using neuronal markers (GAP43, NCAM and PGP 9.5) to characterize the epithelial invagination in the medial wall of the olfactory pit in the chick embryos. At stages 26-27, the epithelial invagination was primarily composed of characteristic round-shaped cells, which were negative for neuronal markers. These cells were also found in ...

The glycosphingolipid SSEA-4 and the glycoprotein YKL-40 have both been associated with human embryonic and neural stem cell differentiation. We investigated the distribution of SSEA-4 and YKL-40 positive cells in proliferative zones of human fetal forebrain using immunohistochemistry and double-labeling immunofluorescence. A few small rounded SSEA-4 and YKL-40 labeled cells were present in the...

In stem cell cultures from adult human tissue, undesirable contamination with fibroblasts is frequently present. The presence of fibroblasts obscures the actual number of stem cells and may result in extracellular matrix production after transplantation. Identification of fibroblasts is difficult because of the lack of specific fibroblast markers. In our laboratory, we isolate and expand neural...

The family of EF-hand calcium binding proteins is composed of more than 250 members. In search for other neuronal markers, we studied the expression pattern of Necab-1, -2 and -3 in the Ammons horn of adult mice at the gene- and protein levels using in-situ hybridization and immunohistochemistry. The genes for the three Necab's were expressed in specific, non-overlapping areas of the hippocampu...